New Dust 514 build 'Chromosome' goes live

On Tuesday, a new performance-based update was released for DUST 514. Weighing in at 2628 MB, the update addresses many issues in just about every aspect of the game. In a recent Dev Blog, DUST 514 Creative Director Atli Már Sveinsson outlined the primary goal of the new build: "The focus of the Chromosome release is about improving on our foundations. It is about getting the core engine and server infrastructure technologies stable and to improve drastically on the user experience."

Chromosome does just that. The update altered and tweaked many things. Where combat is concerned, iron sights have been added to assault rifles and the grenade throwing mechanics have been completely overhauled. New War Point rewards for repairing merc armor and repairing a merc who's damaging an enemy have given the role of the logistics class a lot more viability in the game. The game's aiming feels better and generally delivers a smoother experience than before and everything runs a lot better now.

Atli outlined more of the profound changes made with the latest update: "We have crushed hundreds of bugs over the last few months. The inventory system is now location aware, which paves the way for the introduction of the secondary marketplace. Overall startup time of the client and server has been improved, and our item and attribute system has been altered to allow us to update EVE and DUST more independently than before. Performance has been greatly improved, eliminating engine stalls. Items have received a complete tuning pass, and vehicle physics has been much improved."

Additionally, there are four new ambush maps and the existing ambush and skirmish maps have been updated to add more variation and battle flow. Then, of course, there are the Orbital Bombardments; "One of the most unique features you will see in Chromosome, however, is the ability to request off-map support from players on our test servers in EVE Online. With this feature, DUST mercenaries will be able to coordinate devastating bombardments with EVE pilots in space ships in planetary orbit. These Orbital Bombardments have the capability to dramatically change the tide of battle, and we'll be testing them thoroughly in the weeks to come."

In the Dev Blog, Atli goes on to talk about upcoming additions and changes coming to DUST 514 in the coming months. For the inside word on where it's all heading, read the whole blog here.

With so many improvements and polish added, there's no better time to head into the dust. Beta testers can go to the official forums for the full patch notes.

Don't know what the hell I'm talking about? DUST 514 is PS3's exclusive FPS MMO game that's built inside the perpetually successful EVE Online spaceship MMO on PC. Yes you read me correctly, it's a planetary conquest-based console FPS game built within the universe of a spaceship MMO on the PC. They co-exist on the same server and can interact with each other in real time. It hasn't been attempted before but the legends at the Icelandic studio CCP are making it happen. Read PSU's feature on how these two games gel together if you want to learn a bit more, you can find the feature here.

If you live in the EU and are not yet in the beta, you can come here in the forums and ask me for a code. I'll be happy to hook you up!

Also, for you EU mercs, there are three new accessory bundles now available. In specially branded boxes, you can purchase the PS3 BT headset, the 7.1 wireless head set or the wireless keyboard (yes, DUST 514 has support for keyboard & mouse as well as Move) and get a voucher to unlock the following: